News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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It was an honor to accept the award for POWER as Organization of the Year, but the real honor goes to all the volunteers over the years who have made the projects possible. A special thank you to Pat Holbert, Dick Berry, Ray Burge and Doug Patrick for all the years they spent feeding the fish; without their dedication to take control of the feeding for years, POWER could not have accomplished that. Also, thanks to the Bureau of Reclamation here in Grand Coulee & Ephrata for all their help and cooperation — very much appreciated. A special n... Full story
Once again, I would like to applaud the Ridge Riders for a very successful Memorial Bull Riding tribute event for my dad. A thank you also to the community for the support and attendance. It is very time-consuming to manage an event like this, and they did an excellent job with not a lot of members. Also, a clarification: I presented the belt buckle to the winner, but it was donated by my mother, Betty Lacy. Keep up the good work, the community needs you. Clea Pryor... Full story
Here are a few thoughts from the last few weeks. Remember, my thoughts are strictly my thoughts, not anyone’s at the paper, school, church or in my household. Please do not hold them accountable for anything I might write here or say in public. With that being said, here we go. Take the survey. Whether online or through the mail, it does not matter as long as you do it. This is a chance for every one of us to finally voice an opinion on consolidation for the towns. I think we all know my opinion by now, but in case you missed it: I only see g... Full story
Ask someone to recite our national motto, and you might just get a couple different responses. Such has been the confusion about our national motto that in a speech President Obama delivered in 2010, the President even said, “In the United States, our motto is ‘E pluribus unum’ — out of many, one.” Actually, “E pluribus unum” is the phrase on the official Seal of the United States. In fact, our official national motto has been “In God We Trust” for decades. This July will mark the 60th anniversary of its official adoption, but sadly the mot... Full story
Gravel Pit – The contractor's aggregate processing plant, where sand and gravel is washed and screened into the proper sizes. The large stockpile is the surplus sand mined at the Brett Pit and wasted at this point. - June 1, 1939 photo... Full story
Pop quiz: How would you feel about merging local towns? That’s the essence of a new, very short survey that likely arrived in your mailbox early this week. It’s being asked by the local chamber of commerce in order to gauge the interest local citizens have regarding the subject, and what their feelings are. The chamber was approached by elected leaders in Grand Coulee and Electric City some time ago and asked to facilitate a community discussion on the subject. Evidently, they, like many business people in the area, saw a potential for better s... Full story
It’s so easy in a presidential election year to forget that our system is not about a single person. This year especially, when the dynamics of the presidential contest have dominated news coverage so thoroughly that even the Senate and House races have largely disappeared from view, the crucial role that citizens play — apart from serving as voters in the presidential drama — isn’t even an afterthought. Yet effective citizenship is the base on which our representative democracy rests. Our vitality as a country depends on the involve... Full story
To face a threat, we must begin by calling it exactly what it is. Our nation has once again been attacked by radical Islamists. Early Sunday, Americans woke up to the horror that 49 innocent individuals had been killed and dozens wounded in an insidious terrorist attack on a “soft target,” an Orlando nightclub. The attack in Orlando was an attack on all Americans. We mourn the victims, and we cannot comprehend the pain that their families and loved ones are now facing. They will need our prayers in the days ahead. The federal investigation in l... Full story
Miss Coulee, the first big passenger boat to go into service on the lake behind Grand Coulee Dam. - Summer 1940... Full story
She described it perfectly, although few could hear her. “Everybody’s worst nightmare,” was the way Principal Ronanda Liberty pegged the experience she was having in front of a gymnasium full of people anxiously waiting to see and hear the names of their sons, daughters, friends, relatives at a key life passage — high school graduation. Liberty had stepped up to the microphone, ready for the happy event, only to discover the sound system didn’t work. Batteries were changed. Nothing. Switches and settings checked. Nothing. It had worked ea... Full story
A friend and I stopped at a fast food drive-in recently for something to drink. I put in my order, “a small soda,” and waited for the cashier to tell me the cost. “One dollar and forty cents,” she said. I looked in my purse and remembered I had cleaned out all the change earlier, so I handed her two dollar bills. She opened her cash drawer and a stricken look came over her face. “I have no change,” she said. (Now, that is a first— a busy fast food place with no change.) “I’ll have to call someone.” A voice behind me asked, “What is the proble... Full story
With the recent class of graduates surviving the sticky heat in the gym and receiving their neatly bound diplomas, I decided to look back at some of the subject courses throughout the years that have mysteriously disappeared from the schedules of students. First, I must say that I am fully aware that there is a budget involved here. I realize that some classes do not make the cut and we must focus on the state-required mandates of education requirements, first and foremost. I also realize that you must have a teacher to teach said subject. OK,... Full story
From our founding to the present, American history is filled with reminders of the sacrifices of patriots who took up arms when the call went out to defend their country and the principles that we hold dear. We just observed Memorial Day, when we recognize the high price paid by more than one million men and women in the Armed Forces. This week, we commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. We are reminded that when the call comes for the common defense, the men and women of our Armed Forces continue to fulfill their d... Full story
Sometimes the hard work of one man can go unnoticed. But in the case of Dr. Dennis Carlson, we have a new Pre-K-through-12 school that cannot go unnoticed. Since his arrival here in Coulee Country, he has made an impact. He would be the first to tell you that it has not all been smooth; and yet, time and time again things just seem to get done under this school district superintendent’s watch. As a matter of fact, he is not done yet improving things around here. Obviously, the new school is a big portion of what he has accomplished here, but t... Full story
Today, more millennials are moving back home, even though the economy is improving and wages are inching upward. Recently, Pew Research Center revealed that a third of young adults today are more likely to live with their parents than they were before the Great Recession. Unemployment among young adults has been dropping since 2010, as has the number of millennials living independently. In 2007, prior to the recession, about 42.7 million individuals in that age group lived on their own. In the years in between, the population of 18- to... Full story
The upshot of the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump phenomena is that both parties are moving to the left. Sanders’ and Trump’s styles and affects are very different –the rumpled, oddball lecturer in Socialism 101 vs. the boastful, power-tie-wearing business mogul – but they have worked in tandem to ensure that the center of gravity in this fall’s presidential election will be further to the left than it has been in decades. By seizing the initiative in their race from the beginning to what looks like an increasingly bitter end, Bernie Sanders h... Full story
At the request of the American Red Cross, volunteers turned out in great numbers to give assistance to flood-stricken families in or near present-day Elmer City. This was a common scene, where volunteers placed a sandbag barricade in an attempt to hold back the Columbia. The barricade around this home was eventually built over eight feet high and pumps were installed to keep water from seeping through the barricade; in spite of this, the river finally broke through and inundated the home. – M... Full story
The folks who put together last Friday’s “mock crash” did a great service to the whole community. The event, designed to give young drivers a taste of the reality of a car crash, not something depicted neatly for a television scene, probably left an impression even on the Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High kids who tried not to be impressed, the way kids often do. Judging by the looks on most of their faces, the drama was enough to deliver the message, just as a gripping drama in any medium often does when it elicits a tightness in your throa... Full story
This Monday, when you’re driving back from camping, a mini vacation or just drinking an iced tea after doing yard work, take time to reflect on what Memorial Day is. What it is not is an extra day off on Monday. Although that is nice, it is not the point. It is a day to remember our ancestors, those from our past who have created a foundation of who we are, as individuals and as a community. When I think of community and the names from our past that have done great things to secure our futures, I think of names like Gary Reit, Ray Halsey and R... Full story
Our Okanogan Public Utility District is playing a dangerous game with our future utility rates, and it could cost all of us a lot of money. On May 9, the Okanogan PUD, voted unanimously to proceed with re-energizing Enloe Dam. While Enloe Dam has blocked the Similkameen River for a century, it hasn’t produced a spark of electricity for over 50 years. Efforts to electrify Enloe Dam have been very costly for the Utility. To date, the PUD has spent $13 million dollars pursuing the latest FERC license. An additional $1.3 million dollars is going t... Full story
The good news this Memorial Day weekend is more than 38 million Americans are expected to travel, making the unofficial kickoff to summer this year the second busiest on record. AAA reports nearly 34 million people across the nation will be driving, which is up by 2.1 percent over last year. Air travel is expected to increase as well, with 2.6 million Americans taking to the skies. AAA finds stable or lower costs for airfares, rental cars and hotels. Compared with 2015, gas prices average up to 50 cents a gallon lower. So what’s the bad n... Full story
Compacted backfill is being placed behind the retaining wall extension, shown just to the right of the center of the picture, by George Nolte and Company, subcontractors of Bellingham, Washington. One of the trucks used to transport the fill material is ready to dump its load while an International bulldozer prepares to spread and roll the first lift. A laborer is hand tamping the area adjacent to the wall with a pneumatic tamper. The Right Powerhouse Road and parking lot can be seen in the... Full story
Approached by someone who knew nothing about the area you live in, how would you answer them if asked for the most important facts they should know before or during a visit to the area we call home? That’s the essence of a question asked by Kate, who plans to bicycle through the area in August on a cross-country trek with a large group of bicyclists — all the way from Providence, Rhode Island. “I was wondering if there was any information you think visitors should know about Grand Coulee,” Kate wrote in a recent email to The Star. That’s... Full story
On May 10, a public meeting was held in Okanogan involving a possible change on where our troubled juveniles would be housed over a period of time. The three Okanogan County commissioners were there, also three commissioners from other counties who gave a presentation on their experiences with Martin Hall, a private, not-for-profit group who handles juvenile offenders from nine counties. A standing-room-only group of people from all over Okanogan County was there to listen as the Martin Hall program was explained to us by Lincoln County... Full story
Sheila Kennedy and Ray Campbell have both announced their interest in being re-elected as Okanogan County commissioner.s Given their track record, we can’t let that happen. So far, Campbell is running unopposed. The deadline to declare your candidacy is this Friday! We need qualified candidates for District 2 with a sincere interest in addressing the concerns of constituents and the integrity and business savvy needed to put our county back on track. Candidates must register and pay the filing fee with the Okanogan Auditor by 4:30 p.m., F... Full story